Brantly may prove rare catch for Marlins

Rookie catcher with promising bat working hard to turn opportunity into starting job

February 17, 2013|By Craig Davis, Staff Writer

JUPITER — Rob Brantly's first glimpse of the big leagues spun his head around.

The young catcher was crouched in the bullpen at Marlins Park waiting for a warm-up pitch from Mike Dunn when something unexpected caught his eye through the window into the Clevelander lounge. Brantly was processing the vision of a young woman wearing little more than body paint when the pitch whizzed past his head.

"I almost took a fastball in the mask," he said, chuckling about it last week at Marlins camp.

The six-week eye-opener at the end of last season got the surprises about life in the majors out of the way for Brantly. He also turned heads by hitting .290 with three home runs in his first 100 at-bats. It was enough to make him the frontrunner to be the Marlins' starting catcher this season.

Brantly's defensive skills need some refinement, but his bat took him quickly through the minor leagues. A left-handed hitting catcher who can spray line drives to all fields is among the most sought-after commodities.

"You want a catcher to run your pitching staff and be a great defensive catcher. But if they can hit like Rob does, it's just a plus," Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez said. "He has a short, compact swing. He's going to hit some home runs as well."

For those wondering what will be worth watching this season at Marlins Park aside from Giancarlo Stanton's home runs and Clevelander eye candy, Brantly is Exhibit 1.

He's among the first with a chance to show the Marlins did get talented young players for the veterans who were traded away — he came from Detroit with Jacob Turner in the Anibal Sanchez/Omar Infante deal. And he plays with enthusiasm that is easy to root for.

"My grandfather always taught me to play with a passion and to love every bit of it. So I always have a big smile on my face when I'm playing," he said.

Brantly is still the wide-eyed kid who wore his new catcher's gear to bed on his fifth birthday. But at 23 and still technically a rookie, he has grasped that being a big-leaguer requires more than talent.

That was evident the week of the Marlins' recent preseason caravan tour. Each morning he drove from where he was staying in Davie to Jupiter to catch some bullpen sessions, then to Miami to work with more pitchers at Marlins Park. He still made it to the charity and promotional events.

Asked if he was getting reimbursed for mileage, Brantly said, "No, but I'll get respect."

This is the flipside of the trades that upset Marlins fans. John Buck and Brett Hayes were sent packing, so Brantly is the only catcher in camp who was on the roster at the end of last season. That gave him confidence to pull rank on Wilfredo Gimenez, a non-roster catcher, in order to catch top pitching prospect Jose Fernandez's first spring-training bullpen session.

In the early days with 38 pitchers in camp, many of them new to the team, Brantly took the initiative to get acquainted and forge working relationships with his would-be batterymates.

"He's full of energy, that's for sure," said Ricky Nolasco, the only remaining established starter. "It's good to see that. The kid wants to be here, wants to play. He's being enthusiastic. I don't think that's going to change. I think that's part of his personality. He's a good kid."

Brantly has the fresh-faced look of a little-leaguer, and he was a source of amusement to some of the veterans when he arrived last season. Several took notice of clothing and uniform parts strewn around his locker and posted a sign, "Cleanup on Aisle 19" in reference to Brantly's number, and crisscrossed tape over the locker and on the floor around it.

"I had a lot of veteran guys kind of help me out and put my feet back on the ground. I was kind of floating up for a little bit," Brantly said of the benefits of that late-season indoctrination. "I got all the butterflies out of the way.

"When I first got there I was a little over-aggressive. I had Greg Dobbs and John Buck just kind of pull me aside and say, 'It's OK to take a pitch.' They helped me in realizing some patterns and helped bring me back down to earth."

Asked if he already feels like a seasoned veteran, Brantly paused before saying, "I feel like a baseball player. I feel I can go out there and play the game. I trust my ability to hit."

The Marlins got Jeff Mathis, a solid defensive catcher, in the trade with Toronto. But Mathis has a career batting average of .198 in parts of eight seasons. The starting job is Brantly's if he can hold it.

A lanky build makes his durability behind the plate a concern. He spent the offseason working to add some muscle.

The factor that will be most helpful in adding polish to his work behind the plate is the presence of manager Mike Redmond, a former catcher.

"Are there some areas we can tighten him up a little bit mechanically with his throwing and footwork? Absolutely. But he's very eager to learn, which is great," Redmond said. "I can't wait for the games to start and to start talking to him about hitters and pitchers and how to get guys out. He's going to be fun to work with."

One lesson Brantly won't need help with is about avoiding the distractions of the Clevelander.